Bill to Aid Undocumented Youths In Education Advances

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill last week that would
give thousands of undocumented immigrant youths a chance to gain legal
residency and attend college in the United States.

The bill, whose prime sponsor is Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, a Republican
from Utah and the chairman of the committee, passed 16-3 on Oct.
23.

Called the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act
of 2003, or the DREAM Act, the legislation would enable undocumented
immigrants to obtain temporary U.S. residency cards if they met certain
conditions.

To be eligible, the young people must have moved to the United
States before they turned 16 and lived here for five years, be of good
moral character, and have earned a high school diploma or General
Educational Development credential. A similar bill is pending in the
House.

Under the Senate bill, after six years, if the immigrants could meet
one of several other conditions—including having attended college
for two years in good standing, or served in the military for two
years—they could obtain legal permanent residency. The bill also
would repeal a particular provision of federal immigration law to make
it easier for state colleges and universities to charge undocumented
students in-state tuition.

The bill, if it becomes law, would benefit an estimated 7,000 to
13,000 people, according to statistics from the Washington-based Urban
Institute cited by Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., at the committee
session.

Several senators said they supported the intent of the bill to
benefit a specific group of immigrants who have been brought to the
United States at a young age, have done well in high school, and want
to go to college here. But they debated how much they should offer the
youths. One point of contention involved whether undocumented youths
should be eligible for federal Pell Grants for low-income
students.

Debate on Pell Grants

Sen. Durbin argued that if undocumented immigrants were going to
attend college, they would need financial aid, and that should include
Pell Grants.

"We're saying to these students, 'We're not just going to dangle
this opportunity before you,'" he said.

But Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., argued for leaving Pell Grants
out of the bill. "Let's see what the need is," she said. "I'm not sure
I trust any study on this anymore. I'm not sure how many students are
going to take advantage of a Pell Grant."

The committee adopted an amendment that would permit undocumented
students to get federal student loans and participate in work-study
programs but would not authorize them to receive Pell Grants.

That amendment, offered by Sen. Feinstein and Sen. Charles E.
Grassley, R-Iowa, would also require colleges and universities to
register such students with the Student and Exchange Visitor
Information System, a federal database that currently tracks only
foreign students on campuses.

Vol. 23, Issue 9, Page 24

Published in Print: October 29, 2003, as Bill to Aid Undocumented Youths In Education Advances

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